In connection with the Holocaust Day on 27 January, it is worth remembering the Crimes committed by Man against Man and ensure it does not happen again.
Zyklon B Tablets
Zyklon-B “crystals” were introduced into the homicidal gas chambers through metal tubes of 2 or 3 cm diameter [running parallel to the ground!] , tubes which, in fact, were used to diffuse carbon monoxide coming from metal cylinders outside. I found this impossible association in the Investigation Section of the Warsaw Central Commission. I saw there a photocopy of a French newspaper article illustrated by a can of Zyklon-B surrounded by its “crystals” [Photo 1] PASTED DIRECTLY NEXT TO the funnel used for pouring a liquid found at the Natzweiler [Photo 3]
The relative confusion about the method of using the toxic product in the gas chambers was aggravated by the fact that the SS Bauleitung often grouped in the same building two completely different sanitary functions: showers and incineration furnaces (for example in the Natzweiler camp in France). This proximity brought about a forced association. While in many homicidal gas chambers the showerheads were dummy, there were many testimonies that asserted that the toxic gas was diffused by them. Confusion reinforced by the fact that Zyklon-B was, above all, the regulation pest control agent used by the Wehrmacht, used to delouse effects and combat insects and rodents in premises. During the trials that were held after the war, the tons of Zyklon-B ordered by the camps were attributed to homicidal use without any verification. By far the greater part (over 95 percent) was destined for delousing (effects and buildings) while only a very small part (less than 5 percent) had been used for homicidal gassings.
Photo 2: [PMO neg. no. 624]The funnel with a tap conserved at La Citadelle de Besançon which was used to supply water to a mixture of chemicals in order to generate prussic acid in the gas chamber at Struthof, asphyxiating 86 Jewish victims in August 1943. (Photo by the Franche-Comté Museum of the Resistance and Deportation, La Citadelle de Besançon.)
Delousing the Victims.
Although dated 23rd November 1943, this drawing 3230 of the Stammlager [Drawing 1] is actually an earlier drawing which has been used just to show the location of the eight new watch towers. The original was probably drawn at the beginning of 1942, which would explain why in 1943 this drawing still shows a projected Krematorium, BW 47a, for which the drawings were 870, 871 and 875. The new Krematorium with its external chimney against the wall is shown in yellow outlined in red and is below Krematorium I, itself in yellow and surrounded by its earth embankment.
A:
The delousing gas chamber in Block I.
B:
The two delousing rooms on the ground floor of Block 26.
C:
The two clothing delousing gas chambers on the first floor of Block 3.
This drawing proves that the numbering of the Blocks in the main camp varied according to the period and was different from that which we know now. An ex-prisoner may speak of Block 8 of the Stammlager, whereas now it is No. 23. Extreme care is required with the testimony of survivors who must always be asked to precisely situate and date the action of their accounts, something which is, unfortunately, often forgotten, particularly in France.
LAGEPLAN DES SCHUTZHAFTLAGERS AUSCHWITZ OS / general drawing of the Auschwitz protective detention camp. Upper Silesia. Scale 1:1000, Drawing 3230 of 23/11/1943 (PMO neg. No. 6192).
The document supplied is at the very limit of legibility, for the PMO does not have the original which is said to be in Moscow in the “October Revolution” Central State Archives. There is a good photograph of this drawing in the first bulletin of the Central Commission for the investigation of Hitlerite crimes in Poland, dated 1946. volume 1. page 64. photo No. 5 of the Polish version.
Drawing 1: General plan of the Stammlager showing the location of the intra muros delousing installations with Krematorium I and a projected second Krematorium. Delousing the Victims in the concentration Camps.
Irene and her twin brother Rene were born Renate and Rene Guttmann. The family moved to Prague shortly after the twins’ birth, where they were living when the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. A few months later, uniformed Germans arrested their father. Decades later, Irene and Rene learned that he was killed at the Auschwitz camp in December 1941. Irene, Rene, and their mother were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and later to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, the twins were separated and subjected to medical experiments. Irene and Rene remained separated for some time after their liberation from Auschwitz. The group Rescue Children brought Irene to the United States in 1947, where she was reunited with Rene in 1950.
Personal Account: “I, of course, have, um, unfortunately a lot of memories of, um, of the hospital and, um, the doctor’s office. It, I seem to recall spending a great deal of time, um, there. And also being in the hospital and being very sick. And, um, I know one time, when I went to the doctor’s office, that they took blood from me and, it was extremely painful because it was from the left side of my neck. That’s a strange thing to remember. I also remember having blood taken out of my finger, but that wasn’t quite so bad. And I also remember having to sit, um, very still for long periods to be measured and, or weighed, or in X rays. I rem…I remember X rays, X rays. Um…and injections. I remember injections. And then I’d be sick. Because then I, I’d be in this hospital. And I remember having a high fever, because I know they were taking my temperature, somebody was. Um, I really got to hate doctors. I, I got to be afraid. I used, I was terribly scared of doctors, I still am. They’re a nightmare. Hospitals are out of the question and illness is unacceptable.”
Women and children on the Birkenau arrival platform known as the “ramp”. The Jews were removed from the deportation trains onto the ramp where they faced a selection process – some were sent immediately to their deaths, while others were sent to slave laborWomen and children on the Birkenau arrival platform known as the “ramp”. The Jews were removed from the deportation trains onto the ramp where they faced a selection process – some were sent immediately to their deaths, while others were sent to slave labor.Elderly men waiting at the entrance to sector BII of the camp, apparently before they were to be taken to the gas chambers. In this area, those who were selected for death were marched towards Crematoria IV and V.Sometimes putting a name to a person or child hurts, it brings tears to your eyes, especially in this case, inside Auschwitz, near the busy gas-chambers. The little girl in the middle represents 1.5 millions Jewish children, please study her, look at the eyes, the hands, her stance, her little dress and perky hat. Ask yourself how many friends did she have, when was her birthday, did she have a dog or cat, could she ride a bike, did she have a bike? I would like to pick her up and run away with her into the woods, to the hills, to hide her and protect her. Look to the left of her at the baby in arms, see the whole picture,The “Final Solution” Begins Operation Barbarossa,the German offensive into the USSR, marked the start of [the implementation of] the plan for the mass-murder of the Jews.Visitors track the activities of one killing unit, Einsatzgruppe C, that served in Eastern Galicia and the Ukraine through the unusual amount of documentary evidence regarding its activities.Auschwitz4.jpg Soon after liberation, a Soviet physician examines Auschwitz camp survivors. Poland, February 18, 1945. — Federation Nationale des Deportes et Internes Resistants et PatriotsAuschwitz-glasses.jpg
I am posting some accounts of the Concentration Camps run by The Nazis during The Second Word War to remind people of the cruelty Man is capable of and the need to guard against such evil.
Oral Depositions.
A war crimes investigation photo of the disfigured leg of a survivor from Ravensbrueck, Polish political prisoner Helena Hegier (Rafalska), who was subjected to medical experiments in 1942. This photograph was entered as evidence for the prosecution at the Medical Trial in Nuremberg. The disfiguring scars resulted from incisions made by medical personnel that were purposely infected with bacteria, dirt, and slivers of glass. — DIZ Muenchen GMBH, Sueddeutscher Verlag Bilderdiens
During World War II, a number of German physicians conducted painful and often deadly experiments on thousands ofconcentration camp prisoners without their consent.
Unethical medical experimentation carried out during the Third Reich may be divided into three categories. The first category consists of experiments aimed at facilitating the survival of Axis military personnel. In Dachau, physicians from the German air force and from the German Experimental Institution for Aviation conducted high-altitude experiments, using a low-pressure chamber, to determine the maximum altitude from which crews of damaged aircraft could parachute to safety. Scientists there carried out so-called freezing experiments using prisoners to find an effective treatment for hypothermia. They also used prisoners to test various methods of making seawater potable.
The second category of experimentation aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field. At the German concentration camps of Sachsenhausen,Dachau, Natzweiler, Buchenwald, andNeuengamme, scientists tested immunization compounds and sera for the prevention and treatment of contagious diseases, including malaria, typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, yellow fever, and infectious hepatitis.
“I, of course, have, um, unfortunately a lot of memories of, um, of the hospital and, um, the doctor’s office. It, I seem to recall spending a great deal of time, um, there. And also being in the hospital and being very sick. And, um, I know one time, when I went to the doctor’s office, that they took blood from me and, it was extremely painful because it was from the left side of my neck. That’s a strange thing to remember. I also remember having blood taken out of my finger, but that wasn’t quite so bad. And I also remember having to sit, um, very still for long periods to be measured and, or weighed, or in X rays. I rem…I remember X rays, X rays. Um…and injections. I remember injections. And then I’d be sick. Because then I, I’d be in this hospital. And I remember having a high fever, because I know they were taking my temperature, somebody was. Um, I really got to hate doctors. I, I got to be afraid. I used, I was terribly scared of doctors, I still am. They’re a nightmare. Hospitals are out of the question and illness is unacceptable.”
Irene and her twin brother Rene were born Renate and Rene Guttmann. The family moved to Prague shortly after the twins’ birth, where they were living when the Germans occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. A few months later, uniformed Germans arrested their father. Decades later, Irene and Rene learned that he was killed at the Auschwitz camp in December 1941. Irene, Rene, and their mother were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and later to the Auschwitz camp. At Auschwitz, the twins were separated and subjected to medical experiments. Irene and Rene remained separated for some time after their liberation from Auschwitz. The group Rescue Children brought Irene to the United States in 1947, where she was reunited with Rene in 1950.
— US Holocaust Memorial Museum – Collections
During World War II, a number of German physicians conducted painful and often deadly experiments on thousands ofconcentration camp prisoners without their consent.
Unethical medical experimentation carried out during the Third Reich may be divided into three categories. The first category consists of experiments aimed at facilitating the survival of Axis military personnel. In Dachau, physicians from the German air force and from the German Experimental Institution for Aviation conducted high-altitude experiments, using a low-pressure chamber, to determine the maximum altitude from which crews of damaged aircraft could parachute to safety. Scientists there carried out so-called freezing experiments using prisoners to find an effective treatment for hypothermia. They also used prisoners to test various methods of making seawater potable.
The second category of experimentation aimed at developing and testing pharmaceuticals and treatment methods for injuries and illnesses which German military and occupation personnel encountered in the field. At the German concentration camps of Sachsenhausen,Dachau, Natzweiler, Buchenwald, andNeuengamme, scientists tested immunization compounds and sera for the prevention and treatment of contagious diseases, including malaria, typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, yellow fever, and infectious hepatitis. The Ravensbrueckcamp was the site of bone-grafting experiments and experiments to test the efficacy of newly developed sulfa (sulfanilamide) drugs. At Natzweiler and Sachsenhausen, prisoners were subjected to phosgene and mustard gas in order to test possible antidotes.
The third category of medical experimentation sought to advance the racial and ideological tenets of the Nazi worldview. The most infamous were the experiments of Josef Mengele atAuschwitz. Mengele conducted medical experiments on twins. He also directed serological experiments on Roma (Gypsies), as did Werner Fischer at Sachsenhausen, in order to determine how different “races” withstood various contagious diseases. The research of August Hirt at Strasbourg University also intended to establish “Jewish racial inferiority.”
Other gruesome experiments meant to further Nazi racial goals were a series of sterilization experiments, undertaken primarily at Auschwitz and Ravensbrueck. There, scientists tested a number of methods in their effort to develop an efficient and inexpensive procedure for the mass sterilization of Jews, Roma, and other groups Nazi leaders considered to be racially or genetically undesirable.
“The Berlin Biennale may have disappointed in recent years, but now it’s back with a bang, thanks to Polish curator Artur Zmijewski. He wants to put politics back into art — and he’s succeeding. The exhibition, which opens Thursday, includes an encampment by the Occupy movement, Palestinian stamps and transplanted trees from Auschwitz.
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Some might ask whether the 320 concentration camp trees were really necessary, the young birch trees that were dug up in the surroundings of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and are supposed to put down roots in Berlin.
Auschwitz, ashes, earth and now this delicate green. Perhaps it’s too pretty, and the chain of associations too simple, to really do justice to the horror.
On the other hand, 320 new Holocaust memorials have been planted in Berlin. Although it wasn’t done in secret, it happened — unlike Berlin’s most prominent Holocaust memorial — without any debate or votes in the German parliament, the Bundestag. The birch trees simply appeared — in parks, schoolyards and even on the grounds of the building that houses the representation of Lower Saxony state in the capital. That in itself is a coup.
Artur Zmijewski likes it when art changes reality, and when it becomes reality. He isn’t as fond of other types of art. The trees are a project of the 7th Berlin Biennaleart exhibition. And Zmijewski, the enemy of art, is its curator.
Sense of Melancholy
The Biennale is one of the most important contemporary art events in Germany. It has helped Berlin be taken seriously as a center for contemporary art. The federal government’s cultural foundation is supporting it to the tune of €2.5 million ($3.3 million).
Like almost no other biennial art festival, the Berlin exhibition depends on the city and its atmosphere, and on the various locations and neighborhoods where art is being exhibited. The Biennale centers around the Kunst-Werke (KW) exhibition space on Auguststrasse in the city’s central Mitte district. The neighborhood was once a run-down part of East Berlin, imbued with a sense of melancholy that seemed very authentic, especially to foreign visitors. Despite the fact that Mitte has now been completely gentrified, it has retained some of its former atmosphere.
Artists that were unknown at the time and later became famous, like German painter Jonathan Meese and the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, participated in the first Berlin Biennale in 1998. If they achieved anything, it was to draw attention to themselves. Every two years after that, at each new Biennale, artists would attempt to interpret society and the zeitgeist. Only the last Biennale, in 2010, which was curated by Vienna artist Kathrin Rhomberg, was forgotten soon after it opened. It didn’t seem “Berlin” enough, and it tried too hard not to be noticed and to get everything right with conceptual art. The event was such a failure that the organizers didn’t even reveal the attendance statistics afterwards.
But the upcoming 7th Biennale will likely be one of the most noted art shows of 2012, despite the fact that the famous Kassel exhibition Documenta, which only takes place every five years, is also happening this year. It officially starts on Thursday, but it’s actually been underway for some time. Zmijewski has been the talk of the Berlin art scene since his appointment as the festival curator in 2010. He has exceeded expectations, and then some.
Destroying Books
That’s because Zmijewski began by producing some rather strange pieces of news. He publicly called upon artists to submit applications to take part in the exhibition, requesting that they indicate their political views as part of the application. A full-scale book-destroying event was announced, which reminded many of the book burnings of the Nazi era. And Zmijewski appointed what he called “associated curators” from Russia who were members of the infamous Voina artists’ collective. International arrest warrants have been issued for two members of the group, who are accused of hooliganism and the use of violence. And then there is the logo of this year’s show, which vaguely resembles a rune — something that is controversial in Germany because of the Nazis‘ use of Germanic symbols. Zmijewski is clearly a man who is not afraid of the bold gesture.
Zmijewski, an even-keeled man who sports a beard and has a large ego, is also an artist. He has participated in the Venice Biennale and the Documenta.Newsweek considers the Warsaw native to be one of the 10 most important contemporary artists. In one of his films, happy, naked people hop around in the gas chamber and cellar of a former concentration camp. The work, titled “Berek”, was recently banned from a Berlin exhibition after visitors had complained, prompting critics to accuse the organizers of censorship. Now Zmijewski plans to simply show the short film at the Biennale, as a symbol of a conflict over art.
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